Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Turkey is not just for Thanksgiving holidays at Bates House of Turkey, and next week individuals all over the country will learn of this family tradition.

Beginning Monday, the game show Wheel of Fortune will host a special prize for any lucky player that lands on the Bates House of Turkey panel. If the player lands on the panel and successfully solves the puzzle, they will receive $500 worth of turkey from the Bates Turkey Farm, Inc., shipped anywhere in the United States and a $500 cash prize.

“It is a huge thing for us and independent business people alike,” Becky Sloane said. “It is a huge deal and will hopefully put Greenville and us on the map.”

Sloane is the manager of the restaurant and daughter of the late Bill Bates Jr., the driving force behind the turkey farm’s success.

Thinking back over her childhood, her mother’s love of the game show Wheel of Fortune stood out.

“The most ironic thing about it is my mother was an avid Wheel of Fortune fan,” Sloane said. “Daddy would be watching the news, but it didn’t matter what was going on, she was going to turn that television to Wheel of Fortune. Daddy always teased her about it. She loved Wheel of Fortune.”

With the special airing next week, Sloane considers it a wonderful opportunity during this busy season.

“We are just truly blessed to have this fall into our lap,” she said. “I think it is great that they looked around and found our small business to feature.”

The turkey will be shipped directly from the turkey farm in Fort Deposit anywhere in the country, but the restaurant in Greenville is expected to have many visitors carrying the turkey all over the South.

“Here at the restaurant we are tremendously busy,” Sloane said. “We do an entire Thanksgiving meal – turkey, dressing, and cranberry sauce – all the traditional meals. We also have a lot of travelers come through. We’ll have green bean casseroles, fresh sweet potatoes, dressing, anything that people might want to pick up on their way home.”

On the state level, the turkey farm will also present a Thanksgiving turkey to Gov. Kay Ivey today at the Governor’s mansion. She will pardon it.

All in all, it is an exciting time for Bates Turkey Farm, Inc., and Bates House of Turkey.

So, tune in next week for this special edition of Wheel of Fortune. The game show with the prize will air Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday on CBS at 6:30 p.m.